Thomas Edgar Thatcher died on May 20 at the Royal Cotuit Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Mashpee. He was 96.

Tom first came to the Vineyard in 1950 and opened a pottery shop in West Tisbury. He later purchased and ran the Martha’s Vineyard Youth Hostel.

He had been a member of the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury since 1953 and his memorial service will be held there.

A complete obituary will be published in a future edition of the Gazette.